


Collaboration

by Naoshiro



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, M/M, Musicians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2014-03-02
Packaged: 2018-01-09 13:08:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naoshiro/pseuds/Naoshiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico had decided to make songwriting his number one priority. He was doing this collaboration for the sake of Greeks & Romance. Nico didn't want to let Leo and Percy down. Jason Grace would have to be a lesser priority.</p><p>But he'll be damned if he can't get Jason to like him in the days to come.</p><p>(Musician AU with song lyrics, coupled with a Celebrity AU where they find out people make fics about them, some PercyXLeo and ReynaXAnnabeth thrown into the mix)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N1: Yes the band name is a pun.
> 
> A/N2: Special thanks to tumblr user terratractatori for helping me decide on a theme to work with.
> 
> A/N3: This is actually the AU my Jasico V-day Event fic recipient's request will be based on. The actual fic for my assigned person will be released on Valentine's Day. This is not the V-day event fic. (you can treat it as part of the V-day event fic though)

"We're here for the collaboration," the sullen teenager said before Jason could open his mouth.

He had black hair that fell to an inch above his shoulders, dark bags under his even darker eyes, a worn black skull shirt, ripped jeans, black boots, and what seemed like a permanent scowl on his face. He carried a heavy-looking guitar case in one hand and a large suitcase in the other. There were three other people with him at Jason's doorstep.

Beside the one who had spoken was a tall and stately woman in a white blouse, pencil skirt and gold-embellished ballet flats. She had hard grey eyes and blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail. The woman reminded Jason of his own manager.

The two other people with them were quietly looking at Jason, expecting him to say something or at least let them in. One of the two, a tall sea-green-eyed guy with flip-flops, boardshorts and a blue tank top on, also carried a guitar case and a suitcase. The other, a short wiry-haired Latino in cargo shorts, a plain white shirt and worn dirty sneakers, had drumsticks in one hand and a large backpack strapped securely to his back.

"A collaboration?" Jason asked, bewildered. These people certainly looked like they play in a band, but Jason didn't remember having any meetups scheduled for him today. Especially one that would take place in his own home.

"A collaboration," the teenager echoed dully, as if it were a simple fact that Jason should have known.

And Jason probably _should_ have known. He needed to ask his manager about this immediately. It wasn't like Reyna to forget to tell him about work-related things.

"Jason, let them in," Reyna called out from upstairs. Jason could hear the faint echo of Reyna's black pumps click-clacking unhurriedly down the marble steps of his seaside bachelor pad.

Jason stepped aside, giving them room into enter.

Jason was confused. How long would they be staying at his place? He didn't even _know_ these people.

The guy with sea-green eyes gave an appreciative whistle as he took in his surroundings. "Sweet crib," the guy said, glancing outside the window where there was a good view of the beach and the large expanse of sea.

Jason smiled at this. He was very much proud of his home. "Thank you," he said.

* * *

Jason Grace was definitely better-looking in person, even in just a muscle shirt, sweatpants and no shoes.

Nico di Angelo, the frontman, vocalist and bassist of the alternative rock band _Greeks & Romance_, smiled inwardly.

Nico was glad for the opportunity to work with the blond electric-blue-eyed R&B singer, and he had Jason's manager and Annabeth to thank for.

All he wanted for the past week was to see Jason in the flesh. And he got his wish.

But judging from the confused look on Jason's face and the way he was underdressed, he hadn't been expecting them to come.

Jason led them to the living room, where a woman wearing dark slacks, a blazer over her solid purple top, and simple gold hoop earrings with her long dark hair in a neat braid draped over her shoulder sat in a tall backed chair. Nico heard Annabeth suck in a breath quietly beside him. That woman must have been Reyna, then. Nico has never seen Annabeth react this way to anyone before.

Nico knew Annabeth had a girlfriend named Reyna who was also a talent manager but for a different client. But Nico has never seen the elusive girlfriend until now.

"You can put your instruments down, boys." Annabeth whispered to them. They complied, setting their instruments down gently on the carpeted floor while Leo stuffed his sticks into his front pocket.

Jason walked up to the side of the tall backed chair and bent down to whisper something in the woman's ear. But she held up her hand and said his name in a commanding tone. The blond quieted immediately and stood up straight with his hands behind his back, like a soldier awaiting orders. Jason kept his eyes trained on her.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm Reyna, Jason's manager," Reyna said, standing from her seat and approaching the group. She stretched her hand out to Nico, and he shook it firmly with his free hand. Reyna did the same to Percy, then to Leo, and, finally, to Annabeth. Her gaze lingered on Annabeth's face almost lovingly as she held onto their manager's hand. Annabeth smiled back at her with an equal measure of tenderness.

"Annabeth Chase," she introduced herself, more for Jason's benefit than Reyna's.

After reluctantly letting go of Reyna's hand, Annabeth gave Jason a polite smile as she gestured to the band members. "Jason Grace, I'd like you to meet my clients. Leo Valdez, the drummer."

"Hey," the Latino greeted Jason, giving the blond an impish grin.

"Perseus Jackson, the lead guitarist," Annabeth continued.

"Call me Percy," he said, smiling widely.

"And Nico di Angelo, the vocalist and bassist. He's also the frontman of _Greeks & Romance_."

Nico gave Jason a small smile and a nod of the head.

"The four of you will be working together to create a new song," Annabeth said. "This will be beneficial for both parties. Your ratings will go up, your popularity will rise, and your fanbase would increase."

"That's only if they come up with an excellent song." Reyna mused, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There is no definite deadline, but it'd be best to do it before _Greeks & Romance's _first live concert in September. That's about two months. The three of you aren't exempted from practice or scheduled gigs." Annabeth addressed her clients.

"The same goes for you, Jason," Reyna told him. "You still have dance rehearsals and photo shoots to attend, so make the most out of the time you have with them. They'll be staying here in your house until the song has been composed and recorded."

It was only then that Jason's features softened and he gave them a warm smile. He approached Nico with his hand outstretched, like Reyna had done. Nico took his hand and shook it, noting that it was a little sweaty but pleasantly warm. When he looked up at Jason's face, there was a shine in those electric blue eyes that sent shivers down Nico's spine.

"I look forward to working with all of you," Jason said. The tall blond shook Percy's hand, then Leo's, then Annabeth's.

"Show them to their rooms, Jason. Dinner's at 7:30," Reyna said. "Annabeth and I will get takeouts. In the meantime, you boys can take the time to get to know each other."

* * *

They trailed behind Jason up the marble steps and down a carpeted hallway with two doors on each side. At the end of the hallway, there was a brightly lit glass display case with a security camera monitoring it. Inside the case was a golden electric guitar.

 _She's beautiful,_ Nico thought to himself.

He gazed longingly at the gold-plated electric guitar. _Apollo's Lyre,_ they called it. Made by HIC, short for Hermes' Instrument Company, and bought for a hefty price by the owner of Wing Tree Records and Jason's father, Zeus J. Grace.

"No _way_ ," Percy gasped, pointing a finger at the shining instrument. "You own Apollo's Lyre?" he asked Jason as they walked to the first door on the left.

"My dad does," Jason replied.

He opened the cream-colored door and stepped aside to show them the room's interior. The walls were a solid charcoal grey and the furniture was practical and available only in black and white. There was another cream-colored door in the room with a golden plate on its surface that read _BATHROOM_ in large black lettering.

"This is only one of the four guest rooms. The other guest bedrooms are exactly the same except their color schemes are cyan, magenta, and yellow. Which of these rooms do you guys want to use?"

"Is it okay if Leo and I share the cyan room?" Percy asked, jerking his thumb to the drummer standing next to him.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Jason raised his eyebrows, regarding the pair with some form of fascination as he showed them to the room behind the first door on the right. Surely enough, the walls were cyan and the furniture was in different shades of blue.

Nico lugged his suitcase inside the grey room. He was about to close the door when Jason spoke.

"Food's in the fridge if you guys are hungry. Make yourselves at home. If you guys need anything, I'll be downstairs in the living room," Jason said before he left.

Leo and Percy closed the door to their room, and Nico did the same. He scanned the room for a clock, and found an alarm clock on the bedside table. 3:44PM it said. Nico lugged his suitcase to the foot of the bed where a handsome black velvet chaise longue was located. He searched for his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, planning to freshen up in the guest bathroom.

* * *

"Reyna," Jason spoke with his cell phone to his ear. He leaned against the wall next to the doorway connecting the living room to the foyer. "You never told me about this arrangement. You didn't tell me it was _today._ In _my house._ With _those_ people. I haven't even _heard_ of them before."

He heard her click her tongue on her end of the call. "You will treat Annabeth's clients with respect. Of _course_ you haven't heard of them before. They released their debut album only two weeks ago and they've become a huge hit. During that time, you've been busy with voice training and the video shoot for your newest single. It's no wonder you haven't heard of them. Today was the only day they could have left Nashville to come here."

"Why _my_ house?"

"Instead of you going out to meet new people, I'm bringing new people _to_ you. You've been complaining about having no social life, after all." Reyna's tone was teasing.

"Well whose fault was _that_?" Jason knit his brows, put his hand on his waist and started to pace around the room. He'd had a busy few months with all the appointments Reyna scheduled for him.

Today was his first rest day, and Jason was supposed to take a long nap on the bed he hasn't crashed on in forever (after dance rehearsals, recordings and photo shoots, he'd make a beeline for the leather couch in the living room and collapse there because it was a lot nearer than his king-sized bed on the third floor). Reyna had let herself in with a spare key sometime during his nap, but Jason had only woken up when the doorbell rang. He had seen Reyna leaning against the doorframe of his room with her phone in hand, and she had instructed him to put a shirt on and freshen up before getting the door. Jason had done what he was told, and he had opened his door to the people who were technically now living with him until a song has been composed and recorded.

The hectic schedule Reyna had arranged for him, he could excuse. She was the reason behind his success, and Jason has never questioned her judgement. His father had entrusted him to one of the best talent managers in the area after all. But not telling him about the collaboration plans beforehand was something Jason wanted to be mad at her for.

Reyna was silent, but Jason knew there was a ghost of a smile on her face. He knew that Reyna knew that Jason would never be mad at her for long. Reyna's decisions for Jason always turned out great for him in the long run.

"We're only in the composing stage so there is no need to waste time trying to reserve a booth in Wing Tree Records if you guys have no song yet," Reyna said.

Jason stopped in front of the widescreen TV. "What kind of theme did you want us to use for the song?"

"The four of you will decide on that."

Jason grunted in response. After a beat, he asked about the band's manager. "Reyna, is that woman really Annabeth? The girlfriend you were telling me about?"

"… Yes. What of it?"

"Nothing much. I was just curious about her clients. Leo and Percy? Are they…?" Jason's voice trailed off.

"They're a couple."

Jason turned his back and saw the TV remote on the coffee table. "Hm. I figured as much. They're sharing a room in my house. Are they out?"

"Very much so. I think I can speak for Annabeth when I say that their relationship is one of their band's biggest selling points."

"How about Nico?" Jason asked. Then he froze. He didn't mean to ask about Nico. It simply came out of his mouth.

"Hold on," Reyna said before he could tell her _never mind, forget I asked_. Jason heard muffled female voices in the background. After a brief moment, Reyna spoke. "He's out, but he doesn't make a big deal about it. He's a lot more known for his killer voice and peculiar stage presence."

"As he should be," Jason heard Annabeth say in the background.

"…Am I on loudspeaker?" Jason asked.

"Yes." Reyna and Annabeth chorused.

 _Just great._ Jason rubbed one of his temples with his free hand.

"Play nice, Jason. This could be big for you. For _all four_ of you. Okay? Okay. I'll see you all at dinner tonight," Reyna said, ending the call.

Jason sighed and tossed his phone onto the couch.

* * *

"We're at Jason Grace's house- uh, mansion. This place is _huge,_ Hazel." Nico spoke to his sister on the other line. He held his cell phone to his ear as he parted the creamy white curtains of the guest room with his other hand to a view of an outdoor pool in the backyard.

Nico sighed dreamily. "Wish you could be here, sis."

He heard her hearty chuckle on the other line which never failed to warm his heart.

"You sound really happy to be there, Nico," she said. Nico smiled at this.

"Don't tell Frank, but is Jason really as hot as he looks on magazines?" Hazel asked.

The image of the tall and well-built Jason Grace with finger-combed blond hair, crinkly blue eyes, that interesting scar on the corner of those naturally pouty lips, a muscle shirt stretched taut over his chest, and sweatpants hanging dangerously low over his hips to show a bit of tanned skin between what looked like the only two articles of clothing Jason had been wearing popped into Nico's head. His face heated up.

" _Hotter_. Definitely hotter." Nico replied.

"You're living the dream, brother. Living with your celebrity crush? You don't have to moon over my fashion magazines anymore." Hazel teased.

Nico laughed. "Guess not."

"I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you started going out, though," she said.

"Woah, slow down there, Hazel." Nico spun on his heel and let himself fall back onto the soft bed.

"This is just a collaboration, not _The Bachelor: Gay Edition featuring Jason Grace._ Sure, I'm glad to see him in the flesh, but at the end of the day, all of this is for our music careers." Nico said it so convincingly that he started to believe what he had said. There was truth to his words, but the sole reason for why he _himself_ came here was because he fell in love with Jason Grace.

At least, he _thought_ that meeting Jason was the only reason he had for doing this collaboration.

When Annabeth had briefed Jason about the general collaboration details earlier, Nico realized that, yes, this _will_ be good for the band's reputation and popularity _if_ they manage to create a good song together. He, Leo, and Percy have always dreamed of making their band famous since they were in middle school. They were going to be doing the songs they liked to play and get recognized for them. And their shared dream came true after talent manager Annabeth Chase discovered them playing at a local café in New Orleans a month ago. It was just a matter of staying famous and coming up with new material to sustain that dream-turned-reality.

From the moment he stepped out of Jason's living room, Nico had decided to make songwriting his number one priority. He was doing this collaboration for the sake of _Greeks & Romance. _Nico didn't want to let Leo and Percy down. Jason Grace would have to be a lesser priority.

But he'll be damned if he can't get Jason to like him in the days to come.

Nico heard Hazel hum in thought. "If he _was_ straight, he wouldn't _be_ straight for long, Nico. I mean, with your looks and your voice, you're really gonna catch his attention. God knows you've already turned several men's heads and led them away from the straight path."

Nico laughed uneasily. "I think you're talking about Percy," he said, grimly noting that he _had_ been in love with the band's lead guitarist before the sea-green-eyed brunet started going out with the band's drummer.

"No. I'm not talking about him. You have to stop thinking you're an undesirable nobody. You got the looks."

"I'm lanky and scrawny, Hazel."

"You got the voice."

"Thank you." The only compliment Nico seems to take properly is a compliment on his singing.

"You got a very interesting personality."

"What a roundabout way to say I'm eccentric."

"In a good way, Nico. You're refreshingly different."

"When is 'different' ever 'refreshing'?" he scoffed. Nico bolted upright when he heard a knock on the door.

"When you do something people don't normally do, and it's wonderful. Like that time you put parmesan cheese on fried banana slices," she answered.

Nico went to the door and opened it just a crack. He peeked out and saw his bandmates.

"I gotta go. I'll call you later, Hazel," he spoke. He waited for her to say goodbye before he ended the call.

"Come on, man. Let's go find Jason and see if he'll give us a tour of Grace Manor," Leo said, grinning widely.

Nico pulled the door open and stepped outside his room, stuffing his phone into his pocket. "Sure, why not?"


	2. Chapter 2

It was like being on MTV Cribs but without the cameras and the swagalicious music that plays whenever they enter a new room.

Jason's home was beautiful, and Jason was very proud of it. He showed the trio around his home like he was lovingly showing off a romantic partner.

The tour started with the first floor living room. A black leather four-seater was placed in the middle of the room before an undecorated black-brown coffee table flanked by two tall backed black velvet-covered chairs with flared arm rests. The room had ecru faux fur wall-to-wall carpeting. A flatscreen TV was mounted on the wall facing the couch. Below the TV was a glass cabinet stocked with DVDs and a DVD player. Behind the leather sofa was an oakwood table topped with neat piles of fashion magazines. There were frosted glass sliding doors opposite the TV.

Jason had led them to the dining room, then the kitchen, then the pantry, then the first floor bathroom, then the gym room, and then back to the living room with its frosted glass sliding doors leading to the backyard where the rectangular outdoor pool glittered beautifully in the afternoon sun.

They circled around the house to the garage that could fit three large SUVs and a worktable. Two spots were occupied by a Mustang convertible and a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle. One spot was empty, and Jason said it was usually occupied by Reyna's black Hummer H2 whenever she visited.

The group re-entered the house through the front door. Jason had led them down a flight of stairs behind an ornate wooden door to the basement level where the boiler room, laundry room, wine cellar, and what Jason calls his Instrument Room were.

The Instrument Room, true to its name, had instruments in it. Instruments for music, for modelling, and for dancing. There was an elevated runway that almost split the room into two equal halves. One side of the room had recording equipment, a soundboard, a drum kit, one acoustic guitar, one electric guitar, one bass guitar, a violin, a grand piano, a keyboard, and three microphone stands with wireless microphones. The other half of the room had a CD player next to a wall outlet, a clothing rack where different outfits hung from wire hangers, a black box that Jason said was a makeup kit sitting on a plastic chair, and a handrail in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall. Speakers were located on all corners of the soundproofed room.

It has been explained to the three of them that Jason also did modelling jobs on the side that sometimes required him to walk down the catwalk, which is why Jason had a runway installed in his basement for practice walks. Nico had already known about that fact, thanks to Hazel's fashion magazines.

Jason then led them up to the second floor, where the four guest rooms, a game room stocked with different game consoles, and an office that also functioned as a library and trophy room were. Percy had asked if they could play Guitar Hero later, which Jason had responded to with a smug expression which was as good a _yes_ as any _._

On the third floor, there were three large bedrooms each with private bathrooms and walk-in closets. Two of those bedrooms were decorated more lavishly than the guest rooms on the second floor, and they functioned as special guest rooms for members of the Grace family. The third equally large but surprisingly simple bedroom was Jason's. There was also a balcony on the third floor that was perfect for gazing out at the sea. Jason no longer brought them up to the attic, but he let them know where the attic ladder was located.

The last room Jason had led them to was a surveillance room, where nine screens arranged in a grid on the wall before a table littered with wires and other surveillance equipment were showing live footage of different areas of the house. The first three screens showed different angles of the front yard, the next two featured the backyard, the next one showed the inside of the garage as seen through a thermal imaging camera, the next one showed Apollo's Lyre, and the last two screens featured the runway in the basement.

"And that's the end of the tour. Any questions?" Jason beamed at them as he followed them out into the hallway. Jason shut the door to the surveillance room quietly.

"Does this mean we can play Guitar Hero now?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Jason replied. "As long as we can brainstorm on song ideas."

* * *

 

In the middle of _Song 2_ by Blur, Jason had asked if they had any ideas for the song, but Leo said that they should wait for Nico to come back to the room before they start.

Jason was vaguely aware of Nico leaving the game room as he continued to press the colored buttons on his guitar controller with his eyes glued to the screen. He and Percy were playing against each other. Leo was busy setting up the drum controller while they played, pulling up a stool that came with it.

In the middle of the third song against Percy, Nico returned and shut the door behind him.

"Are we even ready to start composing?" Nico asked.

Jason stopped playing in the middle of the song and handed Leo the guitar controller. The Latino gladly accepted it and picked up where Jason had left off against Percy. Jason approached Nico, glancing at the item Nico had brought back to the game room with him. It was a notebook and a pen.

"So. Got any ideas?" Jason asked, looking curiously at Nico. The bassist shrugged.

"Got some random lines written down but I don't know if we can use 'em. Some of these are really old, and some of them have already been made into songs," Nico responded, handing Jason the worn-out notebook with strings of words written randomly about its frayed pages. Some of the words have been crossed out, and a few lines have words inserted above them as alternatives. Some lines were already put together to make distinct, complete songs. An occasional doodle can be found in the notebook.

Jason continued flipping through the pages when his eyes settled on a rough sketch of what looked like a familiar waist-up shot of him with his gaze steely, and his clothes and hair windblown. He couldn't place where he's seen this waist-up image before.

"Did you draw this?" he asked, awed at how good the drawing was.

A smile tugged at Nico's lips as he craned his neck to see which page Jason was on. "Yes," he replied as he stood back up straight in front of Jason.

"Wow," Jason said, sounding very impressed.

"I tried redrawing a screenshot from the music video for your song, _Take Flight_. Your director did a great job with the visuals," Nico commented. So that's why the drawing had been familiar.

"What can you say about my song, though?" If Nico has seen the music video, then Nico must have heard the song.

Nico's smile grew softer as the bassist glanced up at his face.

"It was honestly a little cliché, but it was inspirational, Jason. I liked _Take Flight_ a lot."

"I'd hate to interrupt-" Leo spoke, not looking away from the TV screen. The two of them directed their attention to the drummer. "-but do we have a theme for the song yet? And do you have a microphone for this game?"

"No, we don't have a theme yet, and yes, I do have a mic. It's behind the TV." Jason pointed to a mic stand peeping out over the top of the flatscreen perched on a low table.

"Are all four of us going to play?" Nico put his hands on his waist, quirking an eyebrow at Leo.

"'Course we are. I'll be the drummer, as usual." Leo said as he struggled through the last notes and frantically tapped on the buttons on the guitar.

"I'll still play the lead guitar," Percy said, smiling as he viewed the resulting scores of the match. Percy and Jason had been evenly matched, but when Jason stopped to talk to Nico after giving Leo control of the guitar, it was much easier to get a better score.

"Do you want to sing? Or do you wanna take the bass?" Jason asked Nico.

Nico hummed in thought, giving Jason the same questioning look he had given Leo. "Depends. Have you heard any of our songs, Jason?"

"Um, no. Sorry," Jason replied apologetically. "I was busy the past few weeks so I haven't been able to listen to anything new."

Leo and Percy looked at each other worriedly. Nico had a mildly displeased expression on his face as he walked over to the TV and took the microphone from behind it. Jason gulped when he noticed a hint of irritation on Nico's face. Jason made a mental note to check out the band's album as soon as possible.

"I'll sing," Nico said, hooking it up to the PS3 and placing it right in front of the space in between the drums and Percy. Looks like Nico wanted to give Jason an idea of how he performs.

Leo gave Jason his guitar when the blond had approached them after setting the notebook down on one of the two beanbags in the room.

"To be completely honest," Leo lowered his voice as he spoke to Jason. "I'm pretty sure the only song we've heard that's yours is _Take Flight_."

Leo then grinned as if he had heard a joke Jason didn't get. " _I_ haven't seen the music video you guys were talking about, but I did use your song for a mashup."

But before Jason could ask about what Leo had been talking about, the song Nico picked out started to play, and Percy started the song off. Leo scrambled off to the drum controller in between Jason and Percy. Leo picked up his sticks just in time as both the bass notes and the drum notes appeared on the screen. It took a while, but the first line of _Sex on Fire_ by Kings of Leon came up. Nico sang into the microphone, his smooth tenor voice hitting the right notes. Nico purposely added an adequate amount of gruffness to his voice when reaching high notes.

Jason was impressed. Nico was talented as a singer _and_ as an artist. Jason then wondered how good Nico could be as a bassist.

Leo was a magnificent drummer. He hit the notes onscreen at the right time with the right amount of force. The Latino even went as far as to imitate the entire part of the original drummer in the song without missing a beat _._

But with Percy, Jason couldn't judge Percy's ability with a guitar since they weren't handling _real_ guitars. They'd have to hold a practice session with real instruments to see what Percy's capable of doing as the lead guitarist.

* * *

 

The song had ended, and Nico breathed out, steeling himself to look at Jason.

Jason went up to him with a smile on his face like he had found something to be pleased about.

Pride swelled in Nico's chest. If that smile was a sign that Jason had recognized his vocal skills, then Nico just had a better chance of getting noticed by him the way he wants to be noticed.

"Mind if we switch?" Jason asked, gesturing to the microphone.

The corners of Nico's lips twitched up. Jason must have wanted to show them what he's got.

He held out his hand, and Jason gave him the guitar controller. Nico assumed Jason's earlier position as Jason adjusted the mic stand.

They had only played Guitar Hero for about an hour with Jason and Nico switching between being vocalists and bassists before Percy groaned out of boredom and said, "Can't we do something else?"

* * *

 

They spent the afternoon playing assorted videogames, having momentarily forgotten their task of songwriting. During that time, the band members tried to get to know Jason while Jason tried to get to know them.

Jason and Percy reclined on the beanbags while Leo and Nico hopped with their bare feet on the DDR mat.

"-so he said _why the fuck not?_ And the band was formed," Percy said, making a wide sweeping gesture with his hand. "But we still didn't have a name then." Percy glanced at Jason who was listening to his story.

"Where _did_ you guys get the idea for your band name?" Jason asked.

"It was Leo and his puns." Percy grinned. "Romance sounds like _Romans._ You know, Romans as in those dudes from Rome? It really isn't funny when I explain it." The guitarist watched the drummer laugh as he missed a step. The other two seemed too engrossed in dancing.

Jason saw how soft Percy's expression became when he stared at Leo with affection. He couldn't help but ask, "So how long have you and Leo been together?"

Percy hummed in thought, counting with his fingers.

"A year and a half," Nico answered tersely as he stomped to his left thrice. Apparently, the band's frontman wasn't _too_ engrossed in the game not to listen in on the conversation.

Percy shrugged. "I don't really keep track of time too well. It's a good thing they remember for me."

"You should see how many times Leo had to drag his ass out of bed so he wouldn't be late for anything," Nico said, jumping in time with the beat of the fast-paced song. There was a hint of amusement in his voice as he said so.

The song had ended, and Leo fell back on the floor after the last sequence of jumps he had to make. Nico stayed on his feet, but he and Leo were equally breathless. Leo lay on the floor, looking up at the guys on the beanbags. Nico turned around to look at all three of them.

"Now, about that song," Nico said, regarding them with dark eyes.

* * *

 

Jason had proposed for them to move to the Instrument Room so they could practice for real. They had hauled their guitars down with them and Leo made a beeline for the drum kit that was already set up in the corner. The Latino swiped a finger against the surface the cymbals and frowned at the amount of dust that had accumulated on his finger.

"Looks like these haven't been used in a while," Leo said as Jason hooked up the guitars to the amps.

"Yeah. I've been busy so I couldn't practice," Jason said. Jason proceeded to plug in two microphones and move the stands nearer the drums.

"Do you play all of these instruments?" Leo asked, looking at Jason incredulously. While tuning his guitar with Percy, Nico watched as Jason glanced at Leo with an apologetic smile and a small nod of the head.

"I'm not that good," Jason remarked. "I'm more like a 'jack of all trades, master of none' kind of guy."

"So modest," Nico whispered to himself.

Percy grinned. "At least we know we can experiment with a lot of other sounds," he said, strumming his tuned blue electric guitar with a fresh cartoon dolphin sticker on it. "We haven't tried incorporating other instruments in our songs."

"A _concept_ ," Nico interjected. "We need a concept." Nico's tone was insistent, but he was talking to no one in particular. His brows were knit. He was sitting not too far from the amps. He sat on the runway with his bass in his lap and his notebook in his hands.

Leo started drumming, coughing a little as the dust flew off the surface of the drum kit. Percy already joined in with a series of chords.

Jason turned to Percy, speaking loud enough for the guitarist to hear over the loud music. "So you guys just play while Nico thinks?"

"Yep, pretty much. If ideas come to mind, we tell him immediately," Percy replied in the same volume. "Most of the time, we just have spontaneous music jams."

Jason hummed, wondering if Nico wouldn't mind if he sat and tried to think of a song with him. After all, they were supposed to be collaborating, right?

He went up to sit on Nico's right on the runway with a reasonable amount of space between them.

"Hey," Jason said, drawing Nico's attention away from the notebook he was poring over. "You can concentrate with all this noise?"

Irritation flashed on Nico's face. "You're talking about my bandmates," Nico said. "Our music is certainly not noise."

"Sorry, that came out wrong. Let me rephrase that," Jason said. He didn't want to go off on a rough start with Nico. "You can concentrate with all this loud music?"

Nico nodded slowly, his lips in a tight line.

"You don't want to go somewhere quieter?"

"Do _you_ want to go somewhere quieter?" Nico asked him back, raising one of his eyebrows.

Jason hesitated before saying yes.

A hint of pink tinted Nico's cheeks as he set his bass aside, closed his notebook, and stood up off the runway, beckoning for Jason to come with him. Jason followed him out of the Instrument Room. Leo and Percy's music didn't reach them outside.

"If you were to write me a song, _any_ song, how would you do the lyrics?" Nico asked as soon as Jason closed the door behind them.

Jason cleared his throat, staring a little nervously at Nico as he groped for words in his head.

" _Oh baby, we just met, but I get_

_The feeling that this thing_

_We got going_

_Is gonna be beautifu-u-ul"_ Jason sang. His voice was loud and lively.

Nico smirked. "Seriously? That's the best you can come up with?"

Jason rolled his eyes and returned that smirk. "Let's see _you_ make a song for me," Jason challenged.

Nico hummed, looking away from Jason and choosing to look up at the warm yellow-orange lighting at the foot of the stairs.

" _I've been watching you for a while_

_What got to me is that smile_

_You gotta smile for_ _**me** _ _more_

_Just for me, just for me,"_ Nico sang slowly. His voice was soft and melodic.

"I can smile for you," Jason said.

Nico looked back at Jason blankly. "Jason, it's just a song."

"Right." Like Jason believed that. He smiled at Nico anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

When dinner was over and their managers left the house, Jason thought it was a good idea to familiarize himself with _Greeks & Romance_'s music before actively composing a song with them. He bought their first and latest album, _War Against Gaea_ , from iTunes.

He looked at the track listing.

1\. The Militia

2\. Charge!

3\. Don't Let Go (Of Your Weapons)

4\. General, No

5\. That Face (A Familiar Face)

6\. Red Apples

7\. Ride

8\. Overthrown

9\. Lost Hearts

10\. Keep Marching

11\. Sleeping With The Fishes

Bonus Track: Dead Man's Lullaby

He put the entire album in his iPod Nano that he had kept for years. He plugged his headphones in and placed them over his ears.

He pressed _Play_.

Jason went down to the living room from his office. He made himself comfortable on the couch, draping his arms around the back of it. His legs were stretched out and spread before the coffee table in front of him and his bare feet rested on the soft faux fur carpet.

* * *

"Dude, check it! New Pewdiepie video," Leo said, excitedly opening the video in a new tab.

Nico rolled his eyes as he looked over Leo's shoulder. "We're supposed to be looking at Jason Grace videos. We can watch Pewds later."

"C'mon, it's just fifteen minutes, Nico," Percy said, his chin resting on Leo's other shoulder.

Nico sighed. "Fine. As long as you let me make a YouTube playlist afterwards so we don't get sidetracked."

* * *

Jason listened intently to their songs, making sure to note every drop, every riff. He paid attention to the lyrics, and thought about what they meant.

Soon enough, he reached the bonus track.

It was strange because the bonus track was a much mellower song as compared to the rest of the songs in their album.

Slow and soft guitar strumming was heard in the background. Jason could only focus on Nico's voice.

_"You've been asleep forever_

_But it feels like a week_

_Clutch the pillow to your chest_

_And whisper your secrets softly_

_I'll hear them from the other side of the bed_

_Of flowers, of earth_

_Let us sleep like the dead_

_Close your eyes, baby_

_Close your eyes_

_Go to sleep like the dead_

_Close your eyes, baby_

_Close your eyes"_

And Jason closed his eyes.

* * *

Nico came downstairs to see that Jason had fallen asleep, sitting on the sofa with his legs spread. His blond head lay facing the ceiling, exposing his neck. Jason's iPod was sitting on his stomach, and his headphones were still over his ears.

Nico made his way silently to the sleeping singer. He hovered over Jason's form, reaching for the old and clearly worn iPod and gingerly picking it up. He was curious about which song Jason fell asleep to, so he lit up the screen with a light touch on its click wheel, careful not to tamper with the volume as he did so.

_'Dead Man's Lullaby,'_ Nico mentally read out, noting that there was only a minute until the end of the song as it continued to play. He knew the song became popular for making the listeners relax, but it was the first time he ever saw anyone fall asleep to it. Jason must have been feeling really tired.

Nico put it back where he had picked it up and let Jason snooze.

* * *

When Jason had woken up, Nico was sitting on the floor at the other side of the coffee table. He looked like he was drawing something on his notebook, eyebrows knit as he was concentrated on his art.

"Nico?" Jason called out weakly, still groggy from sleep. His neck hurt.

Nico looked up from his notebook, raising an eyebrow at Jason in silent question.

Jason turned his head from one side to the other to stretch his neck. "How long have I been asleep?"

" _Forever, but it feels like a week_ ," Nico sang softly.

Jason smiled. Not the answer he wanted, but it was a charming answer nonetheless. "That was a really good song."

"Oh?" An amused smile crept onto Nico's face.

Jason tugged the headphones off his ears and checked his iPod as Nico went back to shade in whatever he had been drawing. Time was 9:33PM, and nothing was playing. _Dead Man's Lullaby_ had been the last song in the album.

Jason grinned. He decided that it was his favourite song.

"So. You finished listening to our album, huh." Nico smiled, intrigued. He pressed his cheek against the glass surface of the coffee table as he watched Jason.

Jason nodded. "Did you write all of them?"

"Most of them. Percy and Leo worked on _Sleeping With The Fishes_."

Jason hummed in thought. " _Red Apples_ was a little strange. What was it supposed to be about?" Jason asked.

Nico blinked and averted his gaze. "Bianca," he said softly.

"Who?"

"My sister," he replied. "I wrote that song years ago. In memory of her. It's only when we recorded it that I realized that no one but me would be able to understand it."

Jason quickly put two and two together, and then felt bad about saying that a song that was meant for a deceased family member was strange. "Sorry. I said it was strange."

"It's okay. You didn't know." Nico gave him a weak smile.

Nico was silent for quite a while, so Jason decided to fill in the silence with "I liked _Keep Marching_."

"I suppose you want to hear the story behind that." Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Only if that's okay with you," Jason replied.

Nico gave him a wry smile. "Fun fact: Leo did a mashup of that and your song, _Take Flight._ Sounded really cool. It's actually what convinced Annabeth to bring up the idea of our collaboration with your manager. She walked in on us listening to it while we were taking a break from rehearsals."

_So_ that's _what Leo was talking about,_ Jason thought. He asked Nico if he could listen to it.

Nico got up off the floor. He motioned for Jason to follow him, and he led Jason to where Leo was busy watching an old Pewdiepie video with Percy.

"The Last of Us again? Aren't you guys tired of watching those episodes over and over?" Nico asked, looking over Leo's shoulder.

Percy hooted in time with Pewdiepie as Joel shot an arrow at a Runner's head. "Nah. Can't get tired of Ellie and Joel," Percy replied.

Nico clapped Leo on the shoulder. "Still have that mashup? Jason wants to hear it," Nico said. Jason couldn't see Nico's face, but he sounded eager.

"Just a sec," Leo muttered, pausing the video. Jason waited as he heard the many clicks from a wireless mouse and heard the piano intro of his song. The three looked back at Jason to see his reaction.

As the song progressed, Jason slowly understood how well their songs melded together. Neither of the songs overshadowed the other, and neither of the songs failed to complement the other. The songs were different enough to get their separate messages across to the listeners, but they had a central theme that Leo had been clever enough to exploit by playing around with the placement of the lyrics.

Jason finally saw the potential in this collaboration with _Greeks & Romance_.

Jason was made aware of the weight of the situation. This was no ordinary assignment. This could be big for all parties involved.

But only if they work together.

The song had ended with Jason and Nico's voices singing the same sustained note.

Jason smiled in the silent room. He wanted to believe it was possible for them to create an excellent song together.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason's days have been filled with melodies that were as short as the time it took to make them up, and snippets of lyrics that were as random as the situations they were used in.

It was like living in the universe of High School Musical but with all the songs brief, on-the-spot, unfinished, unpolished, unusual, and, sometimes, unoriginal.

Jason and Nico would sing to each other. Jason could even say that they sang to each other more than they talked. Every time they tried to speak to one another, no matter how trivial the subject matter, they'd sing what they had to say instead. They both believed it would be conducive to the songwriting process.

Percy and Leo would often try the same thing with Jason, but Percy couldn't carry a tune and Leo would either respond in Morse code or rhyme.

Jason enjoyed living with them. Jason learned to make compromises, assign housework fairly, adjust his lifestyle a bit to hang out with the _Greeks & Romance_ band members despite his busy schedule, attempt to tune out the sounds of Percy and Leo fucking, and accept that none of them sleep as early as he does.

Jason genuinely liked his new housemates. Leo had an infectious laugh and contagious positive energy. Percy was an easygoing guy who provided Jason with friendly competition that kept them both determined to play the guitar. Nico's quiet presence was slightly unnerving with how the bassist seemed to pop up during unexpected times, but Nico was pretty serious about getting work done and keeping his bandmates out of trouble.

The three of them seemed to like Jason just fine. Nico, on the other hand, seemed to like Jason a lot more than they do-

_No._

Jason didn't want to overthink it.

But Jason would often find himself wondering if Nico was intentionally singing romantic lines to him whenever Percy and Leo weren't nearby.

At first, Jason had thought of them as harmless jokes. Ones that he'd respond to with shitty comebacks and lopsided smiles.

He didn't think it was strange for Nico to sing lines befitting love songs while they were still trying to figure out what they'd really be doing for the collaboration. With the direction Nico was taking with his lines, it was very likely for them to be doing a love song. After all, love songs were common and can be pulled off easily and tastefully with the right lyrics and instrumentals.

_And yet…_

Jason didn't know if he was imagining it, but this _serenading_ was starting to happen more frequently as the days passed by.

He would ask Nico about his reasons for singing romantic lines to him, but Nico would only cock his head ever so slightly to the side and say, "Jason, it's just a song," in reply. Nico would then proceed to write down the lines he had sung in his old notebook if they appealed to him.

Jason would brush it off, attend all his scheduled appointments for the day, and then have his suspicions slowly pile up again as Nico sang more sickly sweet lines to him.

It was a vicious cycle, but Jason tried not to let it drive him up the wall.

Maybe it _was_ just a song.

Maybe Nico's singing was just that good or that convincing enough to make him feel raw emotion behind the lyrics.

Maybe it was enough to fool Jason.

Maybe.

_Maybe._

* * *

It was another noisy night at Jason's bachelor pad.

Nico couldn't sleep, so he went down to the living room in his baggy shirt and skull-pattered pajama bottoms. He seated himself on the carpeted floor across the couch where Jason had fallen asleep.

He mentally tuned out the noise from upstairs and flipped his notebook open. Nico stared at the words, willing inspiration to come and hit him.

No working tune, no continuation, virtually no way to use the lines he had written down. The lines were pieces that belonged to different puzzles Nico couldn't complete.

Nico covered his ears and sang. He yearned to find a melody that would help establish the flow of the song. He considered the moods the lines could suggest and made a face each time the words didn't sound right when they left his mouth.

He uncovered his ears when he got sick of listening to his own voice. He stared dejectedly at Jason's sleeping form clad in sweatpants and a worn purple shirt. Nico groaned, frustrated about the song he couldn't compose alone, and pressed his forehead against the glass surface of the table.

He heard Jason stir in his sleep.

* * *

Jason looked around the room and noticed that Percy and Leo weren't present.

"Where are those two?" Jason asked, yawning. He swung his legs off the couch and wiggled his toes as his feet touched the soft carpet under the coffee table.

Nico lifted his head to rest his sharp chin on the cold glass surface. "Fucking," he replied tiredly.

Jason wrinkled his nose. "Again?"

"Again." Nico replied, sounding like this was nothing to be surprised about.

_Thud._

Jason looked up at the ceiling where the sound had come from. A peal of muffled laughter was heard from the same direction, followed by a loud moan.

"They're being really loud," Jason muttered under his breath.

Nico made a face. But then he paused, and his dark eyes suddenly brightened.

" _Things I hear_

_Drown them out, get them out of my head_

_Jason, distract me from the noise they'll make_

_Make me forget with your kisses._ " Nico sang as he stared unabashedly at Jason's lips.

Jason blinked, suddenly feeling a lot more awake and hyperaware of Nico's eyes on him. He felt like he shouldn't be surprised, as they had been singing to each other back and forth about even the most mundane things like _Pass me the salt_ or _The phone's ringing, go get it_ in between those private moments when Nico would suddenly sing sweetly to him. But this was the first time Nico ever mentioned his name as he sung.

_Nico wasn't serious, was he?_

Jason decided to roll with it anyway and tried to add to the lyrics.

" _Things I see,_ " Jason sang back. He licked his dry lips during a pause, noting how Nico's mouth parted a little upon seeing the action.

" _Everyday, keep them out of my head._ " Jason continued.

Nico smirked as he stood up off the floor. " _I don't like it when they fuck on my bed._ "

"They're seriously using your bed?" Jason asked, shocked.

Nico rolled his eyes. "No, but keep singing. This is good progress."

Jason complied and cleared his throat. " _It's for us to use anyway._ " The words left Jason's lips as he watched Nico move to sit next to him on the couch.

" _Sounds of sex fill my ears_

_Close your eyes_

_Make me want you_ " Nico's voice was but a hoarse whisper as his dark eyes looked up at Jason's blue ones. The moaning from upstairs was getting considerably louder as Nico had sung those last few lines.

" _They're not our moans but they will be soon,_ " Jason sang.

" _Why don't we…_ " Nico leaned in, his eyes heavy-lidded.

" _Why don't we…_ " Jason sang back and found himself meeting Nico halfway.

Their lips had barely touched when Nico suddenly whispered, "That's it. That's it!"

Nico pulled back with a wide maniacal grin on his face. "That's our song! _Why Don't We_!"

The _Greeks & Romance_ frontman scrambled off the couch and reached for his old notebook. His fidgety hands grabbed a pen from the coffee table and Nico started jotting down the lyrics on a blank page.

Jason could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He had almost kissed Nico.

Jason bit his lip and looked over at Nico smiling down at the notebook and humming out the tune they had set up for the spur-of-the-moment song. Inspiration must have hit Nico hard.

Nico caught him staring and said, "Hey Jason, help me out here. Sing your part again."

Jason went over to where Nico was, looking over Nico's shoulder to see what he had scribbled onto the page. Jason pretended not to care when he saw that Nico had written _Baby_ instead of _Jason_.


End file.
